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Fujifilm outlines specialist support

The following material was prepared for Photo Counter readers by Fujifilm following an invitation to chief operating officer Dave Marshall to respond to comments from some prominent retailers that Fujifilm Australia was not following the path of other Fujifilm country businesses in supporting specialist photo retailers.

Photo Counter offered to publish any response unedited and in full, which we have below. It comes from Daniel Paul, (pictured right) national marketing manager, Consumer Imaging, Fujifilm Australia:

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this unedited response to your request for information about marketing initiatives that Fujifilm makes available to its Independent retail customers, in particular.

This insight aims to help you and your readers understand some of Fujifilm Australia’s promotional and educational opportunities on offer that aim to drive more foot traffic into all of our retail customer’s stores.
Some current initiatives include:
– Print it or Lose it;
– Photofinishing Retail Blog;
– FujiVision Digital Signage.

Print it or Lose ItThis national campaign was launched in Australia in September, 2013. It aims to encourage consumers to print their digital images to avoid the risk of losing precious photographic memories.

Stage 2 of the initiative will commence in April, 2014 – this will comprise a digital campaign across social media and photo sharing sites to further support the initiative and encourage consumers to print photos in-store.

When consumers share the Facebook connect experience with their contacts – which generates earned media and drives the message out there – they receive a voucher for 20 free prints (with purchase) which can be redeemed from any participating retailer.

Stores interested in participating in the Print It or Lose It campaign can email: [email protected] with the participating store name, address and phone number. All participating sites will be added into the Store Locator so that customers can locate and get directions to the retail outlets involved.

Photofinishing Retail Blog – Free SubscriptionThis free subscription is available to all Australian retailers. It provides subscribers with a range of educational content to help generate traffic to their stores and increase sales.
A broad range of subjects are covered including:
– The best practices for growing your retail brand;
– Making your retail shop more customer friendly;
– Retail Innovation: how to get the word out about little known
products.

An example of future blogs includes such subjects as: Marketing your printing business online; Trends in billboard printing; Wide Format Printing – tips to get new customers through the doors; Ideas to make billboards stand out

There is also additional information on areas such as event photography and photographic tips.

With the growing interest in this technology, Fujifilm has assigned Rory Panetta to manage the FujiVision business area.

Retailers interested in finding out more about FujiVision Digital Signage can contact Rory at: [email protected]

Case Study
In December, 2013, Diamonds Camera, Video & Digital’s Adelaide store on
Rundle Street went through an extensive renovation. Aiming to completely
change the imaging retail experience in Adelaide, Diamonds has created a
modern, exciting and welcoming space for customers.

From the outside, a major feature and attraction of the store is the introduction
of a 65-inch Fujivision interactive screen in the front window. This
allows the consumer to interact with the touch screen – to select, view and
obtain instant information about the latest cameras and accessories, or to
read about upcoming events and promotions.

The screen faces a busy CBD street with some 100k people viewing the content, and is further supported in-store by smaller screens running more content. The screen is not limited to business hours either – night-time patrons of the street are able to interact with the screen, to view products and offers, at any time. The content on the screen is driven by the Fujifilm Marketing Communications Portal, otherwise known as ‘MCP’, which allows Diamonds to easily manage and access assets, adapt to market changes, and improve business efficiency.

Nicholas Diamantis, director, Diamonds Camera, Video & Digital said: ‘Fujivision has put Diamonds at the forefront of technology. Our suppliers cannot wait to be part of the opportunities to advertise their products. Great investment.’

Testimonials
Fujifilm has many other Independent customers who are satisfied with the high standard of service and support they receive. These include:Steve Perris – Byron Photo Magic owner/ manager…Obviously with the approach of the “digital era” the need to change was as important as it would ever be and as a small business the ability to partner with a supplier like Fujifilm has been one of the most important business decisions that we have made, along with Raleru, and continue to enjoy.

Support to an independent operator can come in many forms – Fujifilm provides us with competitive pricing, good product access, promotional support, good local business branding and signage through to partnering with local community sponsorship such as our local surf lifesaving club and events such as our local Rotary Charity Golf tournaments. These provide a great example of grass roots community attitude that only comes from a partnership that is supported by both over many, many years.’

Michael Seymour – George’s Electronics partnerFujifilm Australia is one of the most reliable and trustworthy suppliers that we deal with. We thank you for all your support over the years.

Howard Frank – Camera Electronic directorSaul, I and the team appreciate the overall support that we receive as a business from Fujifilm.

Fujifilm partner very closely with us as a key independent partner, they give us marketing support upon request, partner with us for events and launches and have also recently assisted us with our new shop-fit by having a custom designed dedicated Fujifilm area. They also send their dedicated specialist trainer over to conduct staff training on a regular basis. They have also assisted us with several press ads.’

Paul Clayton – DigiDIRECT chief purchasing officerI have found Fujifilm to be proactive in building our business. Their goal has been to create a partnership. They are forward-thinking and engaging while at the same time they challenge you to move forward. Representation from Fujifilm has been paramount in our success.

We are lucky enough as an organisation to be looked after by Duncan Hyde, our national account manager from Fujifilm. He is a solutions man; he enjoys the day-to-day challenges and is always on the ball. He is ably supported by Jeff Crowley, Nick Martland, and of course Andrew Gowty on the lab side.

David Marshall and Kevin Masuda are responsible for a good part of digiDIRECT’s success. They have recognised our growth in the industry and noted our loyalty to the Fujifilm brand. Working together has been instrumental to this success. We are looking forward to a long and successful partnership with Fujifilm.

Sina Clayton – DigiDIRECT Fujifilm is a real partner in our business. The support on the print side of our business is equally matched by that in the camera hardware.

Promotional activities, participation in our Celebration Sale (by providing in-store company branded giveaways for our customers), print promotions and assistance to have our own online print strategy …is only a brief snippet of what we have achieved together.

In-store presentation via striking displays to highlight the importance of the brand is currently underway at our Bondi Store.

Duncan, your support in particular is greatly appreciated and we hope that in turn our support of your Brand in all our stores in some way backs this up.

Thank you, Fujifilm. Thank you, Duncan.

David Pfaff – Esperance Camera HouseOf all the companies we have dealt with, there is none that comes even close to Fujifilm for support in all areas: marketing, minilab, general advice and solving issues. Just a few examples:Cameras provided for photo competition prizes, radio advertising, in-store promotions (this last Xmas the WA rep Justin Moriarty visited our store in support of a successful two-day promotion on the new X-Series range of cameras and again backed it with radio advertising), promo shirts etc.

Just a few months ago we had a just-out-of-warranty issue with a camera. Fujifilm had no parts to repair it before our customer left for an overseas trip. Justin Moriarty presented the lady with a brand new camera as she stepped off the Esperance flight at Perth Airport (and this was early on a Saturday!). I can’t think of another company giving this sort of “red-carpet” treatment!

In the lab area, in the last seven years in particular, we have experienced tremendous support and advice from both sales and technicians who have shown a genuine interest in even minor problems, acknowledging our remoteness (750 kms from Perth) – they always have time to talk it through.

These are just some samples of my good experience with Fujifilm. Fujifilm’s support to this country client is as good as their X-Series range of cameras – FIVE STAR!”

Chris Bennett – Just Photos…Although Just Photos has a different approach to how it offers and values its photo solutions to Fujifilm, we still continue to receive very real and genuine support from many in the service and sales department. This support has continued to maintain my loyalty to Fujifilm, despite the temptation of more affordable alternatives. I cannot speak highly enough of Ming Ming Su and Duncan Hyde for their absolute care and consideration for myself and my business. The support has allowed me to continue moving forward in my business with confidence and maintain the motivation required to innovate and continue to grow.

Scott Sullivan – Digital Camera Warehouse
Fujifilm is an extremely supportive supplier and partner. As a business, Fujifilm is prepared to ‘think outside the box’. They understand our business, and are a true retail partner.

Duncan Hyde, in particular, is fantastic. He always tries to accommodate at very short notice. For example, he provided us with a printer within 24 hours, to use at a marketing activation where DCW and Fujifilm were exposed to more than 70,000 people.

Fujifilm consistently offers the following to DCW:
– Strong support for launch events such as in-store demo days, with Warwick Williams providing training for customers on new products.
– A willingness to participate in promotional activity by providing genuine and unique offers.
Consistent support from Warwick who is a strong, knowledgeable trainer and who our staff responds well to.
– Great communication from Duncan, who is always available and talks to people across our business multiple times per week.

In addition, Frank Bite and Melissa Butcher are very receptive to ideas and are very supportive of our business.

The Retail Environment
The retail environment is constantly changing and Fujifilm is striving to support all of its business customers to ensure they are able to accommodate consumer demands as they evolve. The needs of independent photo retailers are varied and diverse, and often involve local marketing initiatives.

In addition to the initiatives provided, over the past 12 months Fujifilm has also provided assistance to photo speciality stores with competitively-priced photo processing equipment such as refurbished Frontier labs, photo kiosks and an unprecedented amount of film processors.

Our support in maintaining and servicing current equipment with dedicated Fujifilm technicians (in every state) has been a mainstay to our offering. We are simply a phone call or email away to listen and to work with those who are requiring assistance or support.

Fuji shafted us in favour of Big W & Harvey Norman, they overcharge on their paper & we can get better deals from other suppliers. We use crystal archive paper & we can get it up to 20% cheaper elsewhere within Australia. I can’t even remember the last time Fuji contacted us. If we want price lists we have to ask for them.

Chris, it wasn’t just the Frontier users that thought they got shafted.

I didn’t mind at all that Dave won the Harvey Norman and by default BigW with the demise of Agfa. To me it made good business sense bigger orders from less people.

What annoyed me was Dave’s drive to the bottom with cheap cheap prints. Lower than the big discounters in the US, which is a tough market. Their rent and labour was at half our rates and probably paper too but they didn’t go that low. It was a loss leader to drive customers into the stores, not many of them today, as the management realised they couldn’t be the cheapest and still give customers service as well.

Fuji did great things by bringing new categories to the market, like gifting, but this was ruined again by stupid low pricing, when consumers had no idea of what it should cost. Even HN with Instagram (square) prints introduced cheap prices why. But I think that HN & BigW are now realising that they large amount of space that Dave demanded (multi kiosks) just doesn’t work these days, especially with low margins.

All well and good, however we lost our Fuji rep about 3 weeks ago. Renee was the perfect rep, on the ball and kept her promises. Not sure who my point of contact is now, I guess a voice on the end of the phone will be the only relationship Fuji intends to provide.

Anyone would think Dave was the devil incarnate from some of the comments. The truth is that Fujifilm Japan, Aust or CEO Dave have NOT gone out of their way to destroy the minilab in favour of the very large players. If they hadn’t gone with Fuji they would have gone with HP or Epson or Kodak. Either would have had the same result. The big two players , Coles and Woolies via their group of companies control 85% of all retail sales in Australia. That includes petrol, alcohol, food etc etc. In the UK the top two control 40% where as in the USA the top two control only 20%. But the main reason people don’t print as much, ignoring the GFC and a depressed market is with the advent of imaging devices with instant gratification. You can see the results immediately without the assistance of a lab and now the cost per image to shoot has gone from 50cents per 35mm frame to zero for digital. So everyone takes millions of shots but only rarely requires a hard copy. This isn’t anyone’s fault just a fact of life, technology can have that affect.

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